Today's adorable weasel, the golden-haired, blue-eyed Her Enlightened Ladyship, Duchess Anna Henrietta, wore proper formal attire and stepped onto the viewing platform to receive the cheers of the crowd. Her coronet shone brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
It must be known that, no matter the era, beauty was hard currency. Although Victor did not cheer as warmly as the masses, he still smiled and applauded, even if the young man, who naturally lacked reverence for royal authority, let his drifting thoughts float off into rude territory again.
The curve of her cheeks was perfectly refined, her brows were elegantly shaped, her eyes were bright and lively, and the key point was that sexy tear mole, as well as the attribute of being a busty widow. Dandelion truly was a blessed man.
An expert like Foltest, who knew how to appreciate married women, would surely appreciate Duchess Henrietta's beauty if he saw her, and would sincerely invite her to begin an in-depth exchange with him.
In the middle of his random thoughts, he suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! It's her!"
The witcher's surprised voice drew the attention of Horace, the Barrel Junior, beside him. "What is it? Did you see someone you know?"
Victor covered his mouth with one hand. "No, it's nothing. I just remembered that when I was at the Cockatrice Inn before, I saw a woman who looked very similar to the duchess!"
Hearing what he said, the deputy captain of the guards shrugged. "Is that so? That truly is interesting. Her Enlightened Ladyship's attire is the vanguard of fashion in the duchy. Countless women imitate her! Of course, it's also possible that the person you saw was the duchess herself! She is not the sort of ruler who sits in a palace, but a brave lady full of initiative.
"If you ask me for my opinion of the lady, I would tell you that the most distinct part of her character should be bravery, not enlightenment.
"That said, anyone who resembles the duchess must certainly be a very beautiful lady."
"She was indeed an exceedingly beautiful lady," Victor thought with a solemn expression, without the slightest trace of a smile. "At this point in time, has the woman who resembles Anna Henrietta already started taking action? Actually, that is fairly reasonable. After all, if it's a conspiracy to seize a country, it would be normal to begin preparations several years in advance..."
Before long, after thinking it through, his expression thawed. It was truly boring to think about such unsolvable matters during a joyful festival. Before that woman activated her old lover, the higher vampire whose name he had forgotten, no matter what she did, the damage she could cause would be quite limited. Besides, who knew whether he would even still be in Toussaint by then? He would leave the problem to the White Wolf Geralt and his invincible Sword of Destiny.
Victor had his reasons for thinking seriously about it. The more he understood this world, and the more clearly he understood the ranking of his own combat strength, the more he learned to revere certain beings whose individual power was difficult to defeat by force. He would not casually provoke them.
The witcher still had a long way to go before he could be invincible. Although both worlds had Void traits, the types were entirely different. Many Void traits from the alchemy world that he had seen since childhood had yet to be found here.
For example, when his grandmother was eighteen, the mixing paddle that won her the pie-making championship had attached effects such as "Golden Trident," "Tentacles of Otherworldly Striding," and "Elemental Throne," effects that sounded ridiculous just from their names, but could beat hellish gods and demons.
Thinking back to her glory in those days, she wielded her chaotic flurry with majestic might, shaking the farthest realms. "This strike will turn you to dust!"
Even the broom in the corner of the alchemy workshop, unremarkable as it looked, was in fact a legendary bomb named "Celestial Housecleaning"!
If he had those things in hand, he would dare roar at kings and howl at gods and demons. Unfortunately, he did not. So for otherworldly demons like "Master Mirror," or out-of-spec existences like "higher vampires," he preferred to keep his distance for safety.
He admitted that he feared death. Reality was not a game where one could reload a save file. A single failed dialogue choice, a single enemy he could not resist, and his life might come to an end. If even death itself brought no peace, was it not better to stay alive?
The alchemist had considered whether differences in worldviews had caused the scarcity of Void traits. However, after killing Golyat and obtaining the trait "Titan's Grip," which reduced the weight of weapons, from its hand, it proved that powerful Void traits still existed, they were simply bound to powerful monsters.
So he still had to climb upward step by step.
Just as Victor was thinking about strange matters, the grand Wine Festival began. The Chamberlain, Sebastian, first paid tribute to Her Enlightened Ladyship according to custom, then struck the wooden casks with a grapevine staff. Next, attendants used mallets to install taps on the oak barrels, filled rows of little cups that were gone the moment one had tasted them, and displayed them before each wine cask for the crowd to queue and take.
The overall concept of the process was actually rather like the competition format of certain talent shows. The admission fee was fifty florens, and each person received fifty wooden token chips. Everyone here was a representative with voting rights, and they were also allowed to promote and canvass on site.
Each kind of wine could only be tasted once. Beside each wine cask was a money bucket. After drinking, if one thought the wine was good, one would toss in two, or at most three, wooden chips as a reward. If one disliked it, one still had to toss one wooden chip into the bucket as payment for the wine.
Although the wooden chips could be exchanged back into florens after the tasting ended, those who came here to drink were all citizen representatives who were not short of money. Asking for a refund, who were they looking down on? So they would almost all use up their wooden chips.
Therefore, participating in the competition was basically guaranteed profit with no loss, and there was even the possibility of ascending to the heavens in one step. Because of this influence, almost every estate in the duchy submitted wine, with more than thirty flavors dazzling the eyes and launching a fierce competition.
In the end, the wine with the most wooden chips in its money bucket would be the winner of the Wine Festival, and would receive generous praise and reward from the Duke of Toussaint. A title was only the most basic part. There would also be other tangible and intangible rewards.
As the duchy's foremost wine taster, the court wine taster Benoit used specially made silver tokens. One token was worth thirty wooden chips. In other words, for every wine, his vote could count for at most ninety wooden chips, representing the opinions of thirty people.
Anna Henrietta and Fringilla, who was not present today, used specially made golden tokens. One token was worth fifty florens. Moreover, the red wine that received their full support would gain not only the surface value of one hundred and fifty florens, but also a clear signal of direction, attracting many people to try the wine they liked.
In other words, "what those above favor, those below will pursue all the more!"
Horace smiled until his gums and dimples showed. "Ah, finally... the wonderful moment! Where should we begin? Do you need to eat something at the table first to line your stomach?"
Seeing Victor shake his head, he continued, "Then I suggest... starting with Castel Ravello. Even in the Duchy of Toussaint, where beautiful scenery can be found everywhere, the scenery of Castel Ravello ranks among the best. The grapes there have given birth to excellent wines such as Erveluce, Fiorano Rosé, Pomino, and Est Est.
"And if you like white wine, I highly recommend the wines of two rival vineyards, Coronata and Vermentino. As for the Beauclair White that is said to be quite popular in the North, it comes from the Toricella vineyard."
The witcher chuckled. "Let's drink something else first. Castel Ravello has no novelty for me. I'm too familiar with their flavors!"
From the time he arrived in the witcher world, holding to the life principle that since he was not short of money, he should drink only the best if he was going to drink at all, several red wines produced by Castel Ravello had become frequent guests at Victor's dining table. And in order to make the classic Lafite suit the taste of the people of Toussaint, he had recently drunk many of them again as references.
Then he rubbed his chin. "No need for the white wines of Coronata and Vermentino either. I helped them solve a few small problems before, and each of them sent me several barrels. They taste of fresh citrus fragrance, with clear and vivid acidity. If you're interested, we can get some chicken later to pair with them."
Horace clicked his tongue. "You sound truly knowledgeable... I can't tell at all that you come from the North... If you think the wines produced in the Sansretour Valley are too monotonous, I recommend brands that are less well known but equally delicious, produced in the Blessure Valley.
"Let us begin with the Côte-de-Blessure produced by the Pomerol vineyard. I remember the vintages from 1260 to 1263. Those years had especially mellow and rich flavors. I wonder how they are now. Or if you dislike sweet flavors, the nearby Château de Zubarran offers the less sweet Neufbourg. Nuragus and Sanscerre in northern Toussaint produce the famous Toussaint Red exported to the North. Castel d'Acchia has also brought some delicate rosé wines this year."
The witcher whistled and laughed as he teased, "Wow! Look at you, reciting them like family treasures. As expected of the son of the president of the Coopers' Guild. You're the true expert!"
Horace gave Victor a sidelong glance and spread both hands. "Vice... vice president. Don't deliberately omit one word to make fun of me. Having power is not shameful. Someone must manage things, so long as they don't deliberately abuse it!"
They walked side by side to the wine cask for Côte-de-Blessure. Barrel Junior picked up a tasting cup, took a sip, and smacked his lips as he felt the tannins burst in his mouth. "Speaking of which, you seem full of confidence. Are you not worried at all about Lafite's situation?"
Gently swirling his wine glass, the drifting wine aroma stirred the witcher's memories. "Mm... I've drunk this wine before. A dangerous woman treated me to it. As for whether Lafite can be accepted and loved, a proverb from Bell Town says, 'good wine still fears a deep alley!'
"Look at the long queue over there. I must thank Count Crespi for his strong assistance. Although he promoted me with malice in mind, the final result still comes back to quality.
"Lafite is an all-new flavor you've never drunk before. Just try one little cup, and you'll be like me, falling in love with this red wine!"
"'Good wine still fears a deep alley.' That saying is truly interesting. Though I don't know what you were saying at the end. But feeling your absolute confidence has even piqued my curiosity. You don't mind if I leave for a while to line up and try it, do you?"
"Bell Town dialect. Its meaning is exactly what you're about to do. Lafite is absolutely an all-new flavor you've never drunk before. Just try one little cup, and you'll be like me, falling in love with this red wine!"
Raising his cup with a smile, Victor drank it all in one gulp.
Horace laughed loudly, also drained his cup in one gulp, and left for the moment.
...
Victor's confidence, of course, was not merely based on the quality of Lafite. If one thought carefully, one would discover that the duchy's judging mechanism had loopholes that could be exploited. There were very few absolutely fair competitions in the world to begin with, and Lord Corion, who was determined to obtain a title, naturally had some methods.
For example, as soon as the wine tasting began, Temeria's Golden Eagle, or rather Temeria's Angoulême, brought Miss Vivienne de Tabris, publicly recognized as the most beautiful among the ladies-in-waiting, to the much-watched Lafite cask to queue.
As mentioned before, no matter the era, beauty was hard currency. Since Miss Vivienne's first choice was Lafite, naturally many people would be willing to try the beauty's choice, including, of course, the golden-haired love fool.
Standing behind them as a flower guardian, the brave Guillaume de Launfal fully displayed a knight's bearing on this occasion. And after Vivienne tossed in three wooden chips, he followed without hesitation and placed three wooden chips in as well.
Victor knew that psychology could affect physiology. Good psychological expectations were an essential factor in experiencing the wonders of fine wine. Otherwise, even something good might instead be mistaken for a strange taste because of incorrect judgment. Therefore, guiding public opinion had its necessity.
And since the beautiful Lady Vivienne de Tabris was the first to eat the crab and give a high evaluation, many uncommitted people who had originally been watching from the sidelines could also set their minds at ease and line up to taste it, creating a good atmosphere.
Very soon, two long lines formed before the symbolic tradition of Castel Ravello and the rising Corion Estate respectively. From the expressions on the drinkers' faces after they finished, it could be clearly seen that they were all very satisfied.
However, there was a difference. Those who drank Est Est or Fiorano Rosé would continue to try other red wines, because their quality was well known, and their production was clear and easy to purchase.
But many of those who drank Lafite began searching for the master of Corion Estate, wanting to confirm the red wine's production volume with him and reserve several barrels in advance.
They were wine merchants. When they drank a good new red wine, their instinct was to first buy several barrels as an investment. The name Victor Corion began spreading by word of mouth through the venue all at once.
Holding another cup of red wine and tasting it, Vivienne furrowed her pretty brows. "How incredible. After drinking Lafite, the taste of other red wines makes me think of her. It truly is an unforgettable flavor. Lafite is a girl's name, right? Is she Victor's first love?"
"Definitely not. Don't have strange fantasies about him. This name is most likely just based on Bell Town's odd sense of humor! But if you ask him that, there's a very high chance he'll tell you a pure first-love story about him and Lafite, a lingering, sorrowful tale that simply must be told!
"Trust me. I've been tricked by him too many times. He'll spout nonsense with a perfectly serious face, making it sound completely real, and only afterward will you find out he made it all up!" Angoulême licked the wine stain from the corner of her lips and sold Victor out cleanly and efficiently. Vivienne was still young, and absolutely could not be abducted by a black-hearted witcher.
Hearing her close friend speak so amusingly, the lady-in-waiting giggled sweetly, her beautiful lashes fluttering. "I don't believe you. Could it be that you like him and are afraid I'll compete with you?"
Angoulême pressed down the sudden nausea in her chest. "By Lebioda's balls! I swear that is absolutely impossible between me and him. We are partners, brother and sister, but definitely not in that sense. He and I both know it perfectly well."
Catching sight of Victor just as he finished a conversation with someone, Vivienne raised her cup with a smile. "Remember the payment for letting me help. One full barrel of Lafite. You can't go back on your word!"
"The Corion family always pays its debts!" Angoulême raised her cup in return.
After finishing her wine, Miss Tabris lifted her skirt and walked toward Mr. Corion.
Shrugging, Angoulême decided to go find Lady Anna Henrietta and whisper a few words in her ear. According to Victor, the earlier the duchess tasted Lafite, the higher its final evaluation would be.
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